ABANDON

abandon, wantonness, unconstraint

(noun) the trait of lacking restraint or control; reckless freedom from inhibition or worry; “she danced with abandon”

wildness, abandon

(noun) a feeling of extreme emotional intensity; “the wildness of his anger”

abandon, give up

(verb) stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims; “He abandoned the thought of asking for her hand in marriage”; “Both sides have to give up some claims in these negotiations”

abandon, forsake, desolate, desert

(verb) leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; “The mother deserted her children”

vacate, empty, abandon

(verb) leave behind empty; move out of; “You must vacate your office by tonight”

abandon, give up

(verb) give up with the intent of never claiming again; “Abandon your life to God”; “She gave up her children to her ex-husband when she moved to Tahiti”; “We gave the drowning victim up for dead”

abandon

(verb) forsake, leave behind; “We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Verb

abandon (third-person singular simple present abandons, present participle abandoning, simple past and past participle abandoned)

(transitive) To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]

(transitive) To desist in doing, practicing, following, holding, or adhering to; to turn away from; to permit to lapse; to renounce; to discontinue. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470)]

(transitive) To leave behind; to desert as in a ship or a position, typically in response to overwhelming odds or impending dangers; to forsake, in spite of a duty or responsibility. [First attested in the late 15^th century.]

(transitive, obsolete) To subdue; to take control of. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 16^th century.]

(transitive, obsolete) To cast out; to banish; to expel; to reject. [Attested from the mid 16^th century until the mid 17^th century.]

(transitive) To no longer exercise a right, title, or interest, especially with no interest of reclaiming it again; to yield; to relinquish. [First attested in the mid 18^th century.]

(transitive) To surrender to the insurer (an insured item), so as to claim a total loss.

Synonyms

• abdicate

• abjure

• blin

• cast aside

• cease

• cede

• deliver up

• desert

• depart from

• desist from

• discontinue

• dispense with

• drop

• forgo

• forlet

• forsake

• forswear

• give up

• jilt

• leave behind

• part with

• quit

• recant

• relinquish

• renounce

• repudiate

• resign

• retire

• retract

• run out on

• surrender

• vacate

• waive

• withdraw from

• withsake

• yield

Antonyms

• acquire

• adopt

• advocate

• arrogate

• claim

• cherish

• defend

• embrace

• engage

• gain

• hold

• join

• keep

• maintain

• occupy

• protect

• retain

• undertake

• unite

• uphold

• vindicate

Etymology 2

Noun

abandon (countable and uncountable, plural abandons)

A yielding to natural impulses or inhibitions; freedom from artificial constraint, with loss of appreciation of consequences. [Early 19th century.]

(obsolete) abandonment; relinquishment.

Synonyms

• (giving up to impulses): wantonness, unrestraint, libertinism, abandonment, profligacy, unconstraint

Source: Wiktionary

A*ban"don, v.t. [imp. & p.p. Abandoned; p.pr. & vb.n. Abandoning.] Etym: [OF. abandoner, F.abandonner; a (L. ad)+bandon permission, authority, LL. bandum, bannum, public proclamation, interdiction, bannire to proclaim, summon: of Germanic origin; cf. Goth. bandwjan to show by signs, to designate OHG. banproclamation. The word meant to proclaim, put under a ban, put under control; hence, as in OE., to compel, subject, or to leave in the control of another, and hence, to give up. See Ban.]

1. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject. [Obs.] That he might . . . abandon them from him. Udall. Being all this time abandoned from your bed. Shak.

2. To give up absolutely; to forsake entirely ; to renounce utterly; to relinquish all connection with or concern on; to desert, as a person to whom one owes allegiance or fidelity; to quit; to surrender. Hope was overthrown, yet could not be abandoned. I. Taylor.

3. Reflexively : To give (one's self) up without attempt at self- control ; to yield (one's self) unrestrainedly ; -- often in a bad sense. He abandoned himself . . . to his favorite vice. Macaulay.

4. (Mar. Law)

Definition: To relinquish all claim to; -- used when an insured person gives up to underwriters all claim to the property covered by a policy, which may remain after loss or damage by a peril insured against.

Syn.

– To give up; yield; forego; cede; surrender; resign; abdicate; quit; relinquish; renounce; desert; forsake; leave; retire; withdraw from.

– To Abandon, Desert, Forsake. These words agree in representing a person as giving up or leaving some object, but differ as to the mode of doing it. The distinctive sense of abandon is that of giving up a thing absolutely and finally; as, to abandon one's friends, places, opinions, good or evil habits, a hopeless enterprise, a shipwrecked vessel. Abandon is more widely applicable than forsake or desert. The Latin original of desert appears to have been originally applied to the case of deserters from military service. Hence, the verb, when used of persons in the active voice, has usually or always a bad sense, implying some breach of fidelity, honor, etc., the leaving of something which the person should rightfully stand by and support; as, to desert one's colors, to desert one's post, to desert one's principles or duty. When used in the passive, the sense is not necessarily bad; as, the fields were deserted, a deserted village, deserted halls. Forsake implies the breaking off of previous habit, association, personal connection, or that the thing left had been familiar or frequented; as, to forsake old friends, to forsake the paths of rectitude, the blood forsook his cheeks. It may be used either in a good or in a bad sense.

A*ban"don, n. Etym: [F. abandon. fr. abandonner. See Abandon, v.]

Definition: Abandonment; relinquishment. [Obs.]

A`ban`don", n. Etym: [F. See Abandon.]

Definition: A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

ABANDON

Etymology 1

Verb

Synonyms

Antonyms

Etymology 2

Noun

Synonyms

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